The City of Surrey’s Anja Fouche was successful in completing the course requirements for the Supervisors Safety Certificate Program (SSCP) on November 23rd. Anja was presented with the 1,000th certificate in the Program. The Program was established in 2012 to recognize those who have invested time and energy into learning the key elements of occupational health and safety from a supervisor’s perspective.

Greg Wightman, President of Public Works Association of BC (PWABC) (r) and Caleb Mierau, President of BC Municipal Safety Association (BCMSA) (l) are pleased to announce that PWABC and BCMSA are working together to deliver a joint-conference in 2018. The benefits include more presentations in key topic areas including safety, public works, utilities and leadership; a larger tradeshow; and more opportunities to network with municipal leaders and industry professionals from across BC. There is great excitement as we combine the key strengths and areas of expertise of each of our associations to elevate the quality and value of your conference experience.

Stayed tuned for more exciting news on sponsorship and exhibitor opportunities starting April 1st. The conference program and early bird registration will be available on
June 1st.

On February 5th, Justin Chouhan, BCMSA Manager of Audit and Training Services, presented the City of Abbotsford with their COR certificate. The City of Abbotsford was successful in completing their COR certification for Safety Management Systems in December of 2017 and is to be commended for their leadership in health and safety, as achieving COR is no simple matter. The heart of COR is a commitment from the highest level to do what it takes to ensure worker health and safety and takes dedication from staff to ensure safety programs and procedures are created and maintained. The City of Abbotsford showed commitment from every level of the organization in establishing an excellent safety culture among all workers, management, and executives. The BCMSA congratulates the City of Abbotsford on this outstanding achievement!

The BCMSA and St. John Ambulance recognizes individuals who have acted alone or as a team in providing assistance to either those in need of medical aid using their knowledge in first aid; or those in a situation where their lives may be in danger with or without the application of first aid. Taylor Buell (bottom center), Shem Smith (top center) and Meagan McMillan (not shown) were recognized for their actions at the Comox Valley Regional District Parks and Recreation Meeting jointly by Mike Roberts, BCMSA Executive Director (right) and Dave Valentine, St. John Ambulance Area Commissioner (left) for Vancouver Island at the first annual Above and Beyond Award presentation on January 23rd, 2018 .

In September, a gentleman in his early 50’s collapsed into full cardiac arrest while public skating. The staff responded very quickly and began performing CPR. After using the AED machine three times and further CPR, the gentleman regained consciousness. The gentleman arrested two more times and was then stabilized and transported to Vancouver where he received a complicated heart surgery. We are thrilled to report he is now doing very well.

If you know of someone who has acted alone or as a team in providing assistance to either those in need of medical aid using their knowledge in first aid; or those in a situation where their lives may be in danger with or without the application of first aid in the past year, the BCMSA and St. John would like to recognize their effort.

We’ve scheduled over 750 training sessions for organizations across the province in 2017. Today was our in-house training day with Karl Brysch instructing. Our staff all enjoyed the session and had a few laughs and aha! moments too! Contact Justin Chouhan (jchouhan@bcmsa.ca) if you’re interested in bringing training to your oganization.

On November 28th, Mike Roberts, BCMSA Executive Director, presented The District of North Vancouver (pictured above), Royal Roads University and Squamish Nation with NAOSH Awards at the Annual B.C. Safety Forum & Awards Luncheon.

The North American Occupational Safety and Health (NAOSH) Week is an annual, continent-wide event where employers, workers, and all partners in occupational health and safety collaborate to promote injury and illness prevention in the workplace.

As part of their commitment to promote workplace safety within the tourism industry, go2HR is the certifying partner for the COR program in partnership with WorkSafeBC, developing audit tools and supporting tourism operators to achieve their certification.

With the launch of Small Employer COR (SECOR) in early 2017, go2HR undertook the program and was audited in September. Today, Mike Roberts, Executive Director of the BC Municipal Safety Association, presents go2HR with their official COR certificate.

“This was a phenomenal result, especially for an organization going through the COR process for the very first time,” says Roberts. “The BCMSA has never awarded 100% on a certification audit before; go2HR has clearly demonstrated that there is a commitment from every level of the organization, in establishing an excellent safety culture among all workers, management, and the executive.”

The Certificate of Recognition Program (COR) is an occupational health and safety audit, certification and incentive program, rewarding employers that go beyond the legal requirements by taking the “best practice” approach to health and safety in the workplace. Employers with fewer than 20 employees can participate in the Small Employer COR with a slightly different process and audit tool that takes into account the size of the operation in order to increase small employers’ success.

“For several years we’ve been dedicated to helping other employers obtain COR. It was a great experience for us to undertake the process ourselves and see it from the other side,” says Arlene Keis, CEO of go2HR. “I’m very proud of our team for exhibiting such great safety knowledge and practices. It sets a great example to others to also go above and beyond the standards of workplace safety.”

Interested small employers in the tourism industry can learn more about SECOR and how to participate at go2hr.ca/SECOR.

About go2HR
go2HR is BC’s tourism human resource association, responsible for coordinating the BC Tourism Labour Market Strategy and providing programs and resources in the area of recruitment, retention and training. For more information, visit www.go2hr.ca.

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At WorkSafeBC and the BC Municipal Safety Association, we care about your health and safety. One third of firefighter injuries occur in the fire hall, so we jointly created a short “Safe in the Hall” video on workplace safety at the fire hall.

We would appreciate feedback from Fire Chiefs and Firefighters across BC to know if you had an opportunity to see the video, and to hear your views on the video. We also hope you will share your ideas on how we can work together in the future to reduce workplace injuries.

The survey will take about 2 to 3 minutes to complete. Your responses are anonymous. Please provide your input by Friday, December 22nd.

Starting now, until December 31, WorkSafeBC Prevention Officers will be conducting an inspection initiative focused on preventing workers from unsafe exposure to ammonia. Their focus is on recreational facilities such as skating or hockey arenas and curling rinks, where ammonia is commonly used as a refrigerant.

Exposure to ammonia can irritate or burn the skin and mucous membranes, or cause freezing injuries. Inhalation may result in respiratory distress, unconsciousness, or death. In high concentrations, ammonia is a fire and explosion hazard.

Workers most at risk are those working on the refrigeration system, including refrigeration operators and maintenance contractors. Others in the vicinity may also be at risk in the event of an emergency.

The objectives of this inspection initiative are to ensure:

Workplaces have exposure control plans relating to ammonia, including written work procedures for the safe handling of toxic process gas.

Workplaces have procedures for emergency response and rescue plans, including the safe evacuation of workers, and in some cases the public, in the event of exposure.

Part 6 of the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation, sections 6.116 to 6.132 outline the requirements specific to toxic process gases including ammonia. Part 5 of the OHS Regulation outlines general requirements for all chemical and biological agents.

The following sections in particular relate to ammonia risks:

Section 6.118 on risk assessment

Section 6.119 on exposure control plan

Section 6.127 on appropriate personal protective equipment, including the requirement to provide emergency escape respirators and for workers to wear the appropriate type of respirators when performing hazardous work

Sections 5.48 to 5.59 on controlling exposure, including the requirements for an exposure control plan under section 5.54

WorkSafeBC have developed a new document entitled Employer Information for Ice Rinks and Recreational Facilities to go along with the Ammonia in Refrigeration Systems booklet that is currently being revised. They expect the new Ammonia in Refrigeration Systems booklet to be finalized in December, 2017.

WorkSafeBC has provided the following documents that are available to help employers understand their obligations under the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation:

The BCMSA and St. John Ambulance recognizes individuals who have acted alone or as a team in providing assistance to either those in need of medical aid using their knowledge in first aid; or those in a situation where their lives may be in danger with or without the application of first aid. Lea Kunz was recognized for his actions at the BCMSA Regular General Meeting jointly by (below left to right) Mike Roberts, Executive Director BCMSA; Caleb Mierau, President BCMSA; Lea Kunz recipient District of Lake Country; Cam Manning, Survivor; Tanis Stoltz, District of Lake Country and Jean Chute, St. John Ambulance Chair of the Honours and Awards at the first annual Above and Beyond Award presentation on October 16th, 2017 .

Lea Kunz, a recreational worker for the District of Lake Country, was asked to provide assistance to a hockey player in a dressing room of an arena. Lea immediately grabbed the AED machine and told another person to call 911. When Lea entered the dressing room the hockey player was sitting on the bench and suddenly collapsed and went into arrest. Realizing that the man was unconscious and not breathing, Lea immediately hooked up the AED machine and continued chest compressions until emergency services arrived. The casualty was transported to hospital where he made a full recovery.

If you know of someone who has acted alone or as a team in providing assistance to either those in need of medical aid using their knowledge in first aid; or those in a situation where their lives may be in danger with or without the application of first aid in the past year, the BCMSA and St. John would like to recognize their effort.

On average, while driving for work, 21 workers a year are killed and another 1,280 are injured and miss time from work due to motor vehicle crashes. Almost 30% of these happen during the peak winter months of October, November, and December, and unfortunately, due to last winter’s extreme conditions, claims from these crashes were 38% higher in December 2016 than in December 2015.

On October 13th, in a continued effort to reduce the frequency and severity of winter-weather related vehicle crashes in B.C., the annual Shift into Winter campaign was launched, and will run through until March. This campaign is part of WorkSafeBC’s Occupational Road Safety Initiative (ORSI), led by the Winter Driving Safety Alliance (a partnership of 18 organizations), and operationalized by Road Safety at Work. WorkSafeBC is a part of this winter road safety awareness initiative because vehicles are the workplaces for many people in our province. From the obvious occupations of truck drivers, couriers, and taxi drivers, to the less obvious roles of community health nurses, sales people, and maybe even your own job – these people are at risk of injury and potentially death when they are driving for work on our roads.

Effective October 16th, Justin Chouhan is the new Manager of Audit and Training Services – filling the position recently left vacant by the appointment of Mike Roberts to the Executive Director role.

“We are proud to welcome Justin to our team,” said Executive Director Mike Roberts. “Justin’s experience as a health and safety professional will have a positive impact for the BCMSA and its members.”

Justin’s municipal health and safety career began over 8 years ago with the City of Richmond as a Health and Safety Specialist; and more recently the City of Coquitlam as a Safety and Training Coordinator. Justin is a graduate of BCIT where he received his Diploma in Occupational Health and Safety and Bachelor of Technology in Environmental Health.

The Board of Directors of the BC Municipal Safety Association is pleased to announce the future appointment of Mike Roberts as the Executive Director of the BC Municipal Safety Association, following Cathy Cook’s retirement October 1, 2017.

Mike has been the Manager of Audit and Training Services with the BCMSA since 2014. In addition to his years of health and safety association experience, he has extensive municipal experience and a passion for safety excellence.

We look forward to working with Mike and all of the BCMSA staff in serving our communities, sharing the knowledge, and being the health and safety resource of choice.

As everyone is aware, the 150+ forest fires burning across our Province have caused moderate to severe air quality advisories in most areas.

Smoke concentrations will vary as winds, fire behaviour and temperatures change. The situation is expected to persist until the weather changes.

Environment Canada has issued the following statement:

Persons with chronic underlying medical conditions should postpone strenuous exercise until the advisory is lifted. Staying indoors and in air conditioned spaces helps to reduce fine particulate exposure. Exposure is particularly a concern for infants, the elderly and those who have diabetes, and lung or heart disease.

If you are experiencing any of the following symptoms, contact your health care provider: difficulty in breathing, chest pain or discomfort, and sudden onset of cough or irritation of airways. If you are experiencing symptoms, avoid strenuous outdoor activities, especially along busy traffic corridors.

As an employer, you have a responsibility to ensure a safe working environment for your staff. Since you cannot do anything about the air quality, during these periods of air quality alerts, this responsibility may extend to adjusting the work your outside staff perform, particularly if they have any of the underlying health conditions noted above.

Adjustments may include (but not be limited to): assigning workers with chronic health conditions to lighter work outdoors or to work indoors, or provide shorter work periods with more frequent breaks indoors for all other outside workers. You may also need to increase the number of check-ins for workers working alone or in isolation.

If work must be done outdoors, Personal Protective Equipment (respirators) may help, but in extreme heat may add another hazard for staff. Persons with respiratory ailments may be further affected if using a respirator.

The Canadian Mental Health Association BC Division (CMHA BC) and the British Columbia Municipal Safety Association (BCMSA) have partnered to offer a suite of workplace mental health awareness and training courses to BCMSA members across the province.

The unprecedented drug overdose crisis hitting our Province has led to some new challenges in health and safety.

The RCMP have shared their “Guide to Handling Highly Toxic Substances” which may help you create your Exposure Control Plans and will certainly assist in educating your staff. (With thanks to Gail from the City of Richmond for providing this information)

Great news! BCIT is granting transfer credits for our courses, if you enroll in the Occupational Health and Safety Certificate program. The OHS Certificate is granted after completing 45 credits, of which 25 are electives; these transfer credits would apply to the electives. So keep taking BCMSA courses and get credit towards the Certificate!

Asbestos exposure remains the number one killer of workers in B.C. Hundreds of houses are demolished and renovated every month in our province, and as many homes built up until 1990 used products containing asbestos, this poses a potential threat of exposing workers to harmful asbestos fibres.

WorkSafeBC prevention officers will be conducting a province-wide program of worksite inspections from July 1-December 31, 2016 to ensure homeowners, contractors, and consultants are properly informed and equipped to safely remove asbestos containing materials and are complying with the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation.

WorkSafeBC has a list of information and resources to help ensure everyone remains safe from asbestos-related occupational disease on the jobsite.

Concussions are a more common injury to municipal workers than you may think. Workers who suffer concussions are often away from work for a long period of time from this unfortunately debilitating injury.

The Globally Harmonized System has now been adopted in Canada and by WorkSafeBC. The former WHMIS program (now referred to as WHMIS 1988) now includes the new GHS information in what is referred to as WHMIS 2015.

There is a nearly 3 year transition period before WHMIS 2015 must be fully implemented. Some suppliers may have started sending Supplier Labels and Safety Data Sheets in the new format, which means the employers must train their staff in both systems.

Geoff Clark, Senior Occupational Hygiene Officer at WorkSafeBC, made a presentation at the last regular general meeting of the BCMSA, highlighting the changes between WHMIS 1988 and WHMIS 2015. His presentation is here: What is WHMIS 2015? (8 Sep 15)

The BCMSA offers a face to face WHMIS course, and as of November 1st, this course will be a blended WHMIS 1988 and WHMIS 2015.

Early in 2015, Health Canada revised the exposure limits for Radiofrequency (RF) Electromagnetic Energy. As a result, testing companies are contacting employers to promote their services to conduct RF surveys.

The WorkSafeBC Bulletin notes Engineering Controls to protect workers include using physical guards or barriers to restrict access to areas near antennas, and to raise the antennas above the working level of the roof as the lowest level of radiation is directly beneath the antennas. Administrative Controls are also listed in the Bulletin, and include using signs and/or caution tape to indicate high radiation areas, and maintaining at least a 3 meter distance from an antenna.

Please review the WorkSafeBC bulletin and note that as the employer or as a property owner, you are responsible for ensuring worker exposure is kept below the values issued by Health Canada. Health Canada’s Safety Code 6 for RF Exposure limits can be found here: RF Exposure Limits 2015

One of the important strategies established by the BCMSA Board of Directors is to collaborate with naturally aligned associations and capitalize on appropriate relationships. With this in mind, the BCMSA is pleased to announce the renewal of its partnership with St. John Ambulance. Members of the BCMSA will be eligible for a 10% discount on several St. John Ambulance courses.

BCMSA members will register directly by telephone or in person at any one of the St. John Ambulance BC branches using the promotional code ‘BCMSA’. Visit https://portal.sja.ca/eRegistrationSearch/ for course information.

St. John Ambulance is a not-for-profit charitable organization, incorporated in the same year as the BC Municipal Safety Association (1994).

Do you have control of your MSDS management system? Are you ready to make the switch to Globally Harmonized System (GHS) WHMIS? Do you know what that means?

Federal WHMIS legislation will change June 1, 2015. There will be new classification rules, new label requirements and a standardized format for (Material) Safety Data Sheets.

We offer a solution to your Safety Data Sheet (SDS) management system. Through 3E Online SDS, you can create and maintain a catalogue of your SDS’, indexed by location, facility, or department – your choice. The team at 3E will help you set up your own unique system.

Other benefits include:

Access to historical records – expired SDSs are archived and accessible from the application at any time

Advanced Security – access is allowed to authorized users for certain functional or administrative features

Unlimited users – no limit to the number of users or administrators that can access and use the system

Mobile access – 24/7 access from any smart phone devices

Web-based training – scheduled upon implementation and by request at any time to ensure your employees know how to use the system

On Demand Backup – live assistance via phone for SDS requests when Internet is not available

You may utilize the electronic versions of 3E start-up materials, which you can access through the links below. These materials should be provided to your employees so they know how to access the Data Sheets. (i.e., poster in break room, stickers near phones and wallet cards for field employees).